And so there was Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, in all his glory, after the Spartans’ 35-11 beat down of Michigan Saturday, grabbing every bit of salt he could find and rubbing it into an exposed and infected wound.

He talked about “disrespect” from Michigan. He brought up former Wolverines’ running back Mike Hart’s “Little Brother” comment.

Dantonio discussed how a couple Michigan players planted a stake or a spear something into the turf at Spartan Stadium before the game, and how he and his team were motivated to run up the score with a touchdown in the last minute.

Yeah, Dantonio not only admitted to running up the score on Michigan, he was smug about it.

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He stopped short of referring to anybody as a “Walmart Wolverine.” But you never know.

Could be next.

“You may as well come out and say what you’re feeling at some point of time. You can only be diplomatic so long,” Dantonio said. “All the “Little Brother” stuff, all the disrespect. It didn’t have to go in that direction.

“I just felt we needed to put a stake in them at that time.”

Then he chuckled.

Michigan’s football program has been reduced to not only a punching bag for the Spartans, but a punch line.

These are fighting words, of course, and not the first time Dantonio has done this type of thing.

Rest assured, it won’t be the last.

Thing is, Michigan is incapable of doing anything about it with Brady Hoke as head coach.

Asked about the planting of the stake or spear - or whatever it was – by his players, Hoke said he was “sort of aware” of it.

Isn’t that a roundabout way of admitting you’re clueless?

It was some sort of short metal stake, evidently planted by Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden.

If there was any question Hoke is done as Michigan’s football coach, it was definitively answered “Yes” Saturday.

The big block “M” has been reduced to standing for “M”oral victory – as in reveling in a meaningless touchdown with less than four minutes in a blowout loss because the Wolverines hadn’t score one against MSU since 2011.

State has won six of its last seven meetings with the Wolverines.

The Spartans have replaced Michigan as Ohio State’s big rival. The biggest game in the Big Ten last year was the title match between MSU and the Buckeyes.

This biggest this season will be when the Spartans and Buckeyes meet here in East Lansing in what figures to be an epic rematch a week from Saturday night.

The Spartans will be playing for what could be a spot in the first-ever College Football Playoff, but Dantonio wasn’t trying to impress the selection committee by piling on Michigan in the last minute.

He was twisting the figurative knife into the Wolverines.

“I’m not trying to be funny,” Dantonio said. “This is embedded in people. You need to understand that.”

There were many symbolic moments Saturday, which pointed to exactly why MSU is dominating this rivalry.

Quarterback Connor Cook, lowering his shoulder, ran over Michigan safety Delano Hill on the Spartans’ first scoring drive, and Hill took a shot at him, drawing a penalty.

State running back Nick Hill is one of the smaller backs in the Big Ten at 5-8, and weighing less than 200 pounds. Yet, he moved the pile five yards with several Wolverines’ defenders draped on him.

There was Michigan QB Devin Gardner’s shuttle pass to no one, which was intercepted by Spartans’ linebacker Taiwan Jones.

Cook’s run is destined to be a classic moment in the rivalry.

“To see Connor lower his shoulder like that, set the tone for how we wanted to play this game,” MSU safety Kurtis Drummond said.

Still, the Spartans kept shooting themselves in the foot with a missed field goal, Cook missing an open receiver for an apparent touchdown and a lost fumble by tight end Josiah Price.

It was just 7-3 late in the first half. So what happened, the Spartans put together a 73-yard, nine-play drive, scoring a TD with just 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The Spartans didn’t play perfect football Saturday. Far from it. Yet, MSU is so much better than Michigan it didn’t matter.

“We wanted to make sure we measured up, that just because we won in the past, we weren’t entitled,” Dantonio said.

Point made.

Complete with Michigan’s collective nose rubbed in it, for good measure.

About the Author

Pat Caputo has written as a beat writer and sports columnist for The Oakland Press since 1984 and blogs at http://patcaputo.blogspot.com/. Reach the author at pat.caputo@oakpress.com
or follow Pat on Twitter: @PatCaputo98.